Differential Processing for Actively Ignored Pictures and Words

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2017 Jan 26

PMID 28122022

Citations 6

Authors

Maegen Walker

Margeaux Ciraolo

Andrew Dewald

Scott Sinnett

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Previous work suggests that, when attended, pictures may be processed more readily than words. The current study extends this research to assess potential differences in processing between these stimulus types when they are actively ignored. In a dual-task paradigm, facilitated recognition for previously ignored words was found provided that they appeared frequently with an attended target. When adapting the same paradigm here, previously unattended pictures were recognized at high rates regardless of how they were paired with items during the primary task, whereas unattended words were later recognized at higher rates only if they had previously been aligned with primary task targets. Implicit learning effects obtained by aligning unattended items with attended task-targets may apply only to conceptually abstract stimulus types, such as words. Pictures, on the other hand, may maintain direct access to semantic information, and are therefore processed more readily than words, even when being actively ignored.

Citing Articles

Grounding the Attentional Boost Effect in Events and the Efficient Brain.

Swallow K, Broitman A, Riley E, Turker H Front Psychol. 2022; 13:892416.

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The attentional boost effect facilitates the encoding of contextual details: New evidence with verbal materials and a modified recognition task.

Spataro P, Mulligan N, Saraulli D, Rossi-Arnaud C Atten Percept Psychophys. 2022; 84(5):1489-1500.

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Ageing and selective inhibition of irrelevant information in an attention-demanding rapid serial visual presentation task.

Walker M, Vibell J, Dewald A, Sinnett S Brain Neurosci Adv. 2022; 6:23982128211073427.

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Does the Attentional Boost Effect Depend on the Intentionality of Encoding? Investigating the Mechanisms Underlying Memory for Visual Objects Presented at Behaviorally Relevant Moments in Time.

Hutmacher F, Kuhbandner C Front Psychol. 2020; 11:584187.

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On ignoring words-exploring the neural signature of inhibition of affective words using ERPs.

Seib-Pfeifer L, Koppehele-Gossel J, Gibbons H Exp Brain Res. 2019; 237(9):2397-2409.

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